Back to Blogging Again
Hey! How you been? Long time no blog.
I’m ready to get back to blogging.
Where have I been?
I have been listening. Processing. Learning. Reflecting. Growing. Reading. Changing.
I have been working through depression made worse by the pandemic and life events.
I have been working on recovering from some historical trauma.
I have been working with my team to adapt what OrgCode does and how it does it given the new pandemic reality, seemingly ever-changing travel requirements, a homelessness response system that has gone through massive upheaval and change, and a world that loves video chats.
The pandemic has been humbling. When your identity is, in part, linked to relentlessly being on the road and connecting with community after community, it can be jarring when your wings get clipped. This has been an extraordinary gift in other ways though. I have been able to engage in some projects that I never would have had time for previously. I have learned much by being present and more thoughtful. I have gotten to know my family (and it turns out they are pretty neat people when you spend day after day with them, though I am grateful the kids are back to in-class learning). I find myself being gentler, more focused on kindness, and living an attitude of gratitude. I am not inclined to go back to being a flame throwing, provocative, change agent. I am much more at peace with myself.
Some other odds and ends that may be of interest:
· If you haven’t seen it, we updated our website. We have a combination of prerecorded and live training for professionals in the field available through the website. More prerecorded training will be added in coming weeks.
· The Book on Ending Homelessness, released just a few months before the pandemic, has been a frequent FriesenPress bestseller. That has been humbling. It also has had the intended impact of expanding dialogue on solutions to homelessness.
· My hometown (Sault Ste. Marie) digital media did an article on my work trying to end homelessness. As uncomfortable as it made me feel, I am grateful that it too has sparked some helpful discussion about both homelessness and opioids.
· Travel across borders is now an option for me again. I am one of several million Canadians that had mixed doses (AstraZeneca first shot; Moderna second shot) and it took a while for that to be officially acknowledged as fully vaccinated. I am booking into 2022 for a return to the road.
· The OrgCode team has changed and retracted a bit during the pandemic. Cindy, David, Tracy and I are going strong.
I am committed to blogging at least twice per month going forward. After more than a year and half of thinking and reflecting there are some insights I want to share. This won’t be the last you hear from me in this space, and I promise not to take such a long hiatus again.
Be excellent to each other.